Ozempic Helped Me to Find My Voice

​Losing weight feels great, but it isn’t the best part of this health journey for me. The best part might be surprising, but it is this:
 
The most unexpected benefit of taking a GLP-1 has been finding my voice. Let me see if I can explain that; it might be difficult to articulate. If you can relate to some of this, you will understand. If you can’t relate, it might sound like an unlikely side effect of a medication, but try not to discount my experience—just open your heart and mind to this perspective (and read my former post on empathy).
 
I want to be clear that taking a GLP-1 like Ozempic does not do the work for you or fix everything on its own. One thing it does for many people is clear the mind, in a sense, as it lessens the “food noise,” improves the dysfunctional relationship with food, and improves other ways the mind is impacted by poor health (inflammation, etc.), giving the mind the ability to think more clearly. This is a gradual, but profound way that I have changed (and continue to change) as a result of taking the medication. Weight loss through dieting alone has never achieved this benefit for me in the past, and others report the same experience. There are even statistics and studies that back this up; it is not just my experience.
 
The mental clarity has helped me find my voice in this way - as I look back on my life, I realize how much of my mental space was taken up by the feeling that I was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. I was very shy as a child, and that went on into my adulthood. As an adult, it became more of an internal struggle to feel I needed to conform to certain expectations and hide my real feelings, thoughts, and opinions. This was more than an insecurity or people-pleasing. It had an element of imposter-syndrome, but it was more than that, too. As I became obese, I was given certain messages from society, from people in my life, from the theology of churches we’ve attended, and from my own unmet self-expectations that added to this sense of needing to hide who I really am. This played out in many realms of my life— career, church, socially, and in my ministry as a biblical counselor.
 
Here are just a few examples (maybe in future posts, I will expand on these and other examples). We adopted some of our kids in an era and location where this wasn’t a popular thing to do. A couple of our kids were special needs and very difficult, and our family had to learn to function accordingly, which was incredibly isolating and lonely. We faced such misunderstanding and lack of support in our church circles that we just shut down and kept quiet about some struggles rather than face inevitable judgment and criticism for the way we parented differently than what was considered ‘biblical parenting’ in those circles. For years, we were active in church but never really shared what we were going through at home (other than a few close friends, thankfully, we did have those!). We were misunderstood, gossiped about, and more. Eventually, we did open up about everything, but the support system wasn’t there as it should have been, so, as a mom, I stayed closed about it. Square peg behavior!

I also have found myself struggling to express a different viewpoint or opinion about church issues and counseling-related things. I don’t blend in well with any particular tribe, and I never felt free to just be ok with that —be who I am, be ok with having a different opinion or seeing things in another way. In the current political climate and the way it has intersected with Christianity, I find myself seeing some things differently than other popular viewpoints in some of my circles. Also, I have endured mistreatment by abusive leaders in previous churches, and instead of using my voice to address it, I shut down and never entirely told the story (mainly because some counseled me to stay quiet, and I was told by others that I must have done something to contribute to their behavior towards me, dismissing my experience added to my shut down and not using my voice.) In those hard times, my foggy mind could not process the reality of the situations, nor could I receive the counsel I was given (both good and bad!). As a counselor for over 20 years, I have kept my voice quiet at times within the biblical counseling movement because I don’t seem to fit into the molds that are expected in order to belong in certain groups. I am a square peg in any given group, it seems. Again, these are just a few brief examples of a lifetime of struggling with this square peg dilemma.
 
Enter Ozempic. Gradually, I have gained more mental clarity. I am not a scientist nor a physician, so I won’t try to explain how this works scientifically here, but it does. I was able to start to work through these kinds of issues in my life, and I feel more confident in using my own voice as God has called me and made me (in His image, as are you.) One way I am doing this right now is by writing this blog and being honest about things I never would have spoken about before. I am working on being more transparent and vulnerable in everything I say and write in church and in ministry, feeling confident that God has given me a distinct voice in these spaces and that I am supposed to use it, not hide it. I do not want to focus only on myself, even though this is my journey, because the sole purpose of my voice is to give glory to God and to help people. I have become more forthcoming in the various ways I use my voice (teaching/training, mentoring, counseling), but I have a long way to go, no doubt. I am a work in progress, still on this journey. I am finally more comfortable using my voice than ever before, and I know this is a result of taking a GLP-1, which has given me newfound mental clarity. How cool is that?!
 
Don’t get me wrong. The GLP-1 doesn’t fix everything. It just cleared up some health issues that interfered with my ability to do what we all need to be doing: take care of our health in a sustainable and balanced way (mental health, physical health, and spiritual health all work hand-in-hand). It is still just as important to get counseling if needed, talk to close family and friends, and do the ongoing work of spiritual growth, as we all should. But for me, Ozempic does clear the mind and make the body healthier, leading to being able to do better mental/spiritual/emotional work without the mental garbage in the way.
 
In summary, for me, a GLP-1 is the tool that cleared my mind enough to finally have the bandwidth to see my food issues more clearly, to gain perspective and help with issues that always felt so muddy before due to the shame and guilt that was both self-inflicted and inflicted by the messages conveyed in the spiritual communities I was involved in through my adult years. GLP-1 removed the brain fog and mind clutter and helps me to understand God, others, and myself so much more.
 
This is a longer story, of course, and I have left a lot out, but the end result has been …. FREEDOM. Freedom physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. At age 68, I can honestly say that I am changed in every aspect of my life due to the use of Ozempic for the past two years. It wasn’t just Ozempic; I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself lately in other ways, too. Ozempic has helped me do all the different things necessary for change. It works for me, profoundly!
 
Years ago, before I did counselor training, a stranger at a conference told me that she wanted me to remember this verse and that it would be the foundation of my counseling ministry. I have thought of it as my “ministry verse” ever since, but it has taken on a deeper, more profound meaning for me in light of my recent discovery of my voice. It is this:
 
1 Peter 3:15: “…but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
 
Ozempic is not my hope; it is simply a tool that has helped me. Jesus is my genuine hope, and I hope that He will use my voice to share real hope with others who need hope, too. I ask Him continually to give me a voice of kindness, grace, mercy, truth, and love. If I have ever failed to do that with you, please forgive me and let’s chat about it.
 
As always, feel free to leave a comment here or on my social media. I’d be happy to have a conversation with you.
 
Ellen